Abbott details $15B AbbVie spinout financing | Wall Street Beat

Abbott puts together a nearly $15 billion financing package with Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch to back the spinout of its pharmaceuticals arm as AbbVie.

Abbott (NYSE:ABT) is putting a $14.5 billion financing package in place to back the spinout of its research pharmaceuticals division into a separate company called AbbVie.

Morgan Stanley is putting up a $7.5 billion bridge loan, JP Morgan is putting up a $5 billion revolving credit line and Bank of America Merrill Lynch is leading a separate $2 billion revolver, un-named sources told Thomson Reuters.

Last year Abbott announced its plan to spin out the pharma biz, saying it would keep the Abbott brand for its diversified medical businesses. Abbott CEO Miles White later told shareholders in a letter that the split "reflects long-term changes in the healthcare market that have led us over time to create distinctly different business models." Earlier this month the company revealed the new executive roster for AbbVie.